HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 326
page A324
Suffering continued
Sometimes we willingly suffer because it will help us grow and mature.
• 2 T I MOT H Y 3 :1 2 | Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will
suffer persecution.
When we identify ourselves as followers of Jesus, we can expect persecution and suffering
from those who are against his message.
Does my suffering mean that God doesn’t care about me?
• PSA L M 2 2 :2 4 | For he has not ignored or belittled the suffering of the needy. He has not
turned his back on them, but has listened to their cries for help.
Your suffering matters to God because you matter to God. He created you personally, and
he created you for a purpose. God’s care is such that not even a single tear goes unnoticed.
He knows your every pain and will one day lead you to ultimate joy and victory, which is the
end of all suffering in heaven.
• 1 P E T E R 4 :1 2 -1 3 | Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going
through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad—for these
trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful
joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.
• J O H N 1 6 :3 3 | “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you
will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
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• 1 P E T E R 5 :1 0 | After you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and
strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.
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Suffering does not mean that God has abandoned you. On the contrary, God has a
great reward in heaven for those who remain faithful to him on this earth as they endure
suffering.
• PSA L M 2 3 :4 | Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you
are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.
God sticks with you even in your most intense suffering.
• J O H N 1 1 :3 3 -3 5 | When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with
her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled. “Where have you put
him?” he asked them. They told him, “Lord, come and see.” Then Jesus wept.
• I SA I A H 5 3 :3 | He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest
grief.
Jesus hurts when you hurt. He not only cares about you but also shares your sorrows.
Can any good come from suffering?
• J O B 5 :1 7 -1 8 | “But consider the joy of those corrected by God! Do not despise the
discipline of the Almighty when you sin. For though he wounds, he also bandages. He
strikes, but his hands also heal.” (See note on page 455.)
• R O MA NS 5 :3 -4 | We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know
that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character.
• H E B R E W S 1 2 :1 1 | No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But
afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.
• J A ME S 1 :3 -4 | For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance
to grow. . . . When your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete,
needing nothing.
• PR O V E R B S 1 0 :2 5 | When the storms of life come, the wicked are whirled away, but the
godly have a lasting foundation.
• 1 P E T E R 1 :7 | These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests
and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. (See note on page 1129.)
We live in a fallen world where sin is often allowed to run its course, affecting both believers and nonbelievers alike (Matthew 5:45). God doesn’t want you to suffer, but the great